Method for the determination of 1,3‐butadiene in workplace air using headspace GC

This analytical method is a validated measurement procedure for the determination of 1,3‐butadiene [106‐99‐0] in workplace air averaged over the sampling period after personal or stationary sampling. Sampling is performed by drawing a defined volume of air through a charcoal tube using a suitable flow‐regulated pump. The flow rate is set to 40 mL/min with a recommended air sample volume of 20 L. The collected 1,3‐butadiene is desorbed with a mixture of benzyl alcohol/dimethyl sulfoxide/water (90+5+5 v:v) and then analysed by means of headspace‐GC and a mass selective detector (MSD). The quantitative evaluation is based on a calibration function obtained by means of a multiple‐point calibration using dichloromethane‐D2 as internal standard. Based on the resulting peak areas the respective mass of 1,3‐butadiene can be obtained from the calibration function. The absolute limit of quantification (LOQ) is 0.5 µg for 1,3‐butadiene deposited on a charcoal tube. The mean recovery was 84% and the expanded uncertainty for 1,3‐butadiene was between 21 and 23%. Joint Publication of the Analytical Subcommittee of the Chemistry Board of Experts of the Expert Committee Raw Materials and Chemical Industry of the German Social Accident Insurance and the working group “Air Analyses” of the Permanent Senate Commission of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area.